Meleesa Johnson, WGF, testifies on Senate Bill 456 at Wisconsin State Capitol, October 9, 2025. Photo by Sarah Barry.

A Busy Week at the Capitol for WGF

By Paul Heinen, WGF Policy Director, Edited by Carolyn Pralle, WGF Communications and Outreach Coordinator

During the week of October 6, 2025, Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) leaders testified at the Wisconsin State Capitol on multiple bills. The main topics were on forestry and PFAS. Meleesa Johnson, WGF Executive Director, and John Robinson, Chair of WGF’s Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) Work Group Chair both spent hours testifying before the Legislative Committees.

• Archived recordings of the hearings are available through Wisconsin Eye for the Oct 7th hearing here and Oct 9th hearing here.
• If you would like a copy of WGF’s written testimonies, please contact us.

Senate Bill 456 on funding for a “Sustainable Aviation Biofuel” (SAF) project

Meleesa Johnson speaks to Rep. Miresse following the hearing on SB 456 at Wisconsin State Capitol, October 2025

Meleesa spoke for “information only” on Senate Bill 456 at the hearing October 9th. SB 456 is a bill proposed by Senator Felzkowski to create a $150 million grant program for a “sustainable aviation biofuel” (SAF) project in Hayward, Wisconsin. The facility, as proposed, will produce SAF and other fuel byproducts from qualifying woody biomass. Much of the funds in the proposed program will be bonded against the Forestry Account from the State’s Conservation Fund. Careful readers may remember that the Forestry Account has also been recently tapped to backfill monies in the Fish and Wildlife Account, which speaks to the broader issue of sustainable long-term conservation funding.

A project of this magnitude may be a shot in the arm for Wisconsin’s forestry industry. As our 2024 Opportunities Now paper, Wisconsin Forests At Risk, states, “the economics of forest management are changing.” New markets for forest products such as biofuels are part of planning the future of our forests. Yet, Wisconsin’s Green Fire has a number of questions around the concept, the sourcing of materials and ensuring sourced materials qualify for carbon credits. We also have questions about impacts to current forest product industries, forest health, and wildlife habitat, particularly for species of significant conservation need. Furthermore, WGF has questions about methods of making whole the Forestry Account should the facility fail.

Notably, SAF is currently around $2 per gallon more expensive than traditional aviation fuels.  The current market demand for SAF is primarily Great Britian and the European Union. Therefore, the project will likely also require qualifying for carbon credits from these countries to support the business model.

Senate Bill 127 and Senate Bill 128 on PFAS

John spoke in opposition to two bills, Senate Bill 127 and Senate Bill 128, at the hearing October 7th. These two bills are this Legislative Session’s PFAS bills, introduced by Senator Wimberger. The bills are identical to Senate Bill 312 that he introduced last session (2023-2024). WGF opposed the bill then too. When that version of the bill passed, the Governor vetoed it.

Why does WGF oppose these bills? The bills continue to let corporate polluters off the hook for pollution cleanups caused by their companies. Additionally, the bills do not free up the $125 million sitting in a trust fund in the Joint Committee on Finance for PFAS cleanup. WGF continues to work with the Legislators and the Governor to pass protective legislation on PFAS.

The 2025-2026 Legislative Session only has a few days left for the Legislators to vote on bills. Nonetheless, Wisconsin’s Green Fire will be busy working to ensure that the bills that are passed protect human health and the environment.  The last possible Legislative Session day is March 19, 2026.

John Robinson, WGF, testifies in opposition to Senate Bills 127 and 128 at Wisconsin State Capitol, October 7, 2025. Photo by Paul Heinen.